Pop Quizes
I use pop quizes to gague if they are getting what I am teaching to assess them. I helps me to back up or move forward with the class and helps set the pace.
I like giving pop quizzes several times a week.
They help me determine what material I need to
change up in order to better reach the student
I have given pop quizzes but do not count them towards the grades. Often times I ask students not to put their names on the quizzes. I will collect them for a minute, look at them to gauge the answers and then put them on the table and let the students retrieve them anonymously. We then go over the answers in class. I find it very helpful for the students and myself as it gives feedback to the students as to understanding and lets me know how they are doing.
I love the idea of relating a pop quiz to "work" and a "paycheck". This certainly relates to the foodservice industry. Thanks for the idea!
I give pop quizzes that are electronically given via a program that keeps each student anonymous but the aggregate of each answer is displayed by percentage right vs wrong answers. This gives me an almost immediate gauge of how much the class is absorbing.
Hi Guy, Thanks for your post to the forum. I also like the format of a regular weekly quiz. Either way, it does get them preparing and gives us regular feedback.
Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
I think the idea of a possible pop quiz alone goes along ways. Meaning if I say at the start of a course that there will be an occasional pop quiz during this course students tend to make a better effort to listen and take notes.
Hi Richard, I find that when students know they will have a daily short quiz, they are more likely to do the reading.
Susan Polick
If students know that they could miss a quiz at the beginning of a class they are also more punctual. I give quizzes very often to measure the progress of the class and use it as a self evaluation tool on my teaching. If the class does particularly bad on a quiz, I tend to go back and see if I hit all the important material enough. More often then not the class was just unprepared and failed to follow up on the assigned reading.
pop quizes are a good form of assessing the students.. it does help you determine if student is receiving what is being taught
I usually give a pop quiz for two reasons. One, for attendance and of course to see what knowledge has been gained. For attendance, it is given to students who are on time. They seem to become more ready for the real world by not being late for "work" and the reward of their doing well on the pop quiz is like their paycheck. I prefer pop quizzes because it usually allows more discussion on the lectures without having to assume they understood all of the information if they do not feel comfortable asking questions in class.
Pop quizzes not only help students study and focus but if given at the beginning of class they encourage students to be in their seats and ready to learn when class starts.
I agree Brenda,
Pop quizzes does help my students understand the material and information that is being taught.
I agree Stanley,
Pop quizzes do help to gauge what students are actually learning and what student is having problems early in the course.
Pop quizzes do seem to nudge students into reviewing material from the last class. By issuing them later in the class, students also are forced to stay for most of the class.
Frequent impromptu quizes helps the student be aware of how much and what they are learning. These can be ungraded and used as study tools. There should also be graded quizes and exams, but these impromptu quizes can be great assesment tools.
Hi Sandra, You are using a good mix of assessment formats!
Susan Polick
Hi Patrick, It sounds like the student who fails the quizzes may be studying for an anticipated test but not on a regular basis. Instead of "pop" quizzes, I prefer to have weekly scheduled quizzes so that my students are keeping up with their work on a regular basis. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
I find my students vary on their preferences for quiz formats. I try to offer them a variety of formats from pop quizzes at the end of a lecture/discussion class, matching (especially on vocab./terminology) and essay question at the end of term.
Prof Polick,
How should I handle a student that fails the 'pop' but scores well on the test, and conversely, how to handle the student that performs well on the quiz, but cannot integrate the material for a test?
